“Raiders of the Lost Ark” was an exciting movie about the search for, and eventual discovery of, the Biblical Ark of the Covenant. The movie version of it was actually quite accurate down to the detail of the lid and the fact that it disappeared. Only God knows where it is, a reality well captured by them storing it in a huge government warehouse at the end of the movie.

The lid of the ark was called the mercy seat. There the blood of the annual atonement sacrifice was sprinkled, and God spoke to Israel (Exodus 25:21-22). This was a symbol of the ultimate mercy seat and speaker for Israel, and the whole world. Jesus came and give his blood as the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25) and was God’s final spokesman (Hebrews 1:2).

Propitiation is just a big word for appease, or take away. God’s wrath would be appeased by the blood of Jesus which took away our sins (Hebrews 9:11-12). Through the mercy of God in his Son we have access to him, we can dwell with him (Hebrews 10:19-23). If, and that’s a big if, we forge ahead in faith. Shall we?